Hurricane Sandy's Name Will Probably Be Retired

Even though Hurricane Sandy had transformed into a hybrid
cyclone-nor'easter when it ravaged the Northeast and
Mid-Atlantic, weather experts believe the damage left behind will
send the name "Sandy" into retirement.

The devastating storm,
second only to Hurricane Katrina in its kinetic energy, a
measure of sheer power, caused an estimated $20 billion in
property damage and cut power to more than 8 million homes.

Hurricane names are struck from the official list when the World
Meteorological Organization's Region IV committee holds its
annual meeting in April. Thus, the final decision on retiring the
name Sandy is months away.

However, "it is highly expected that the name 'Sandy' will be
retired at that time," said Dennis Feltgen, public affairs
officer and a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center.

Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists
created by the National Hurricane Center. They are now maintained
and updated by an international committee of the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO). Six lists are used in
rotation, and the 2012 list will be used again in 2018.

The only time there is a change in the list is if a storm is so
deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different
storm would be inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity, Feltgen
told OurAmazingPlanet in an email interview. If that occurs,
then, at the annual meeting by the WMO Region IV committee, the
offending name is retired from the hurricane list and another
name is selected to replace it, he said.

After 2011's Hurricane Irene caused more than $15 billion in
damages and 41 deaths in the United States,
"Irene" was replaced with "Irma" in 2012. It was the 76th
hurricane name to be retired from the Atlantic list since 1954,
according to a statement from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.